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Morrison Bridge will be closed Sunday for inspection of flawed lift-span panels

Morrison Bridge deck coming apart under Portland driversThe Morrison Bridge in downtown Portland is a mess. First, missteps by Multnomah County and halted a new surfacing in 2011, leaving the bridge with a gaping hole and unfinished for several months. Now, just a year after it was completed, the new multimillion skid-resistant polymer surface is coming undone. And the county doesn't know who to blame -- but it doesn't want any of it.

The busiest Multnomah County-run bridge, carrying more than 50,000 automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians a day, isn't exactly falling into the Willamette River. But a little more than a year after it was completed, the lift span's new environmentally friendly, skid-resistant polymer surface is cracking apart and coming unscrewed.

County spokesman Mike Pullen said that for the next phase of the investigation, two lanes on the bridge will open in each direction on the lift span, instead of the normal three lanes. This configuration is expected to remain in place for two months.

Pullen said during that phase, all ramps will remain open, but lanes will be shifted around the work area while workers remove the decking material for inspection.